More of the Same, and Remembering

The scrap piles don't look much smaller than they did last week. There's a pile of cut pieces on the right side of the sewing machine.

And one canvas bin that's still a jumbled mess because I keep rooting around through it. 

But my design wall is filling up! The Scrap Vortex blocks are getting larger and chunkier (we're on week four of the quilt-along) and My Small World is growing. You can see it on the right, though it's difficult to tell where Scrap Vortex ends and My Small World begins! 

I've now completed Section 2 (of six sections) of My Small World. In keeping with my aim to give it a Florida feel, I used a couple palm fabrics, and fussy cut squares of a flamingo, and a beach chair. 

The colorful cabanas in the middle were hand appliquéd, as were four petals. My favorite method is back-basting needle turn appliqué. If you haven't tried it, here's a good tutorial.

This darling little Janome Derby sewing machine arrived yesterday after I succumbed to MassDrop's discounted price. The machine weighs less than five pounds and is available in many different colors. The "turbo teal" spoke to me.

I think it will be perfect to tote to my weekly Big Cypress Quilters meeting. Though a disadvantage is that it doesn't have a light, MassDrop is helping with that too as I've ordered a rechargeable, cordless LED lamp. Yep, I like shopping at MassDrop.

Last evening I made a practice quilt block that turned out too small. Seems I still need to figure out how to find an accurate quarter inch, since the machine has only one foot.

On an altogether different topic, today is a personal remembering day. This photo, taken in May 2002 in Austin, Texas, when our son received his master's degree in structural engineering from the University of Texas, is the last one I ever took of my mother. By December, died from non-Hodgkins lymphoma which she had fought and sent into remission twice previously. 

Today would have been her 85th birthday. My Dad, siblings, and I are missing her more than we can express, and think of her with much love. She was the best mother, and the one to whom I owe my ability and love for sewing. Linda